Regulator Soaking - Mistake?

[divad]

As long as you don't have one of these, its fine to soak the whole thing.

Zeagle F8

 

[TMHeimer]

No need for a 30 minute shower for anything. No need to soak reg. -- just wash off in shower or with hose. Mine is 16 years old now (bought used in 2005) and still going strong without any soaking ever.

 

[gamon]

Soaking it like that is overkill and risks leakage through the dust cap.

There is no reason to take the dust cap off during drying.

Disagree with these last 2 points. If the dust cap will keep water out during a 5-10 minute rinse, it's going to keep water out indefinitely. I prefer to leave my regs in a soak for hours if not overnight, if it's the last trip of the vacation and the regs are going to sit for months or longer.

I always remove the dust cap when drying and storing just in case any water happened to get in there so the first stage can dry out.

 

[boulderjohn]

Disagree with these last 2 points. If the dust cap will keep water out during a 5-10 minute rinse, it's going to keep water out indefinitely. I prefer to leave my regs in a soak for hours if not overnight, if it's the last trip of the vacation and the regs are going to sit for months or longer.

I always remove the dust cap when drying and storing just in case any water happened to get in there so the first stage can dry out.

Do you have any reason for your personal practice other than it is your personal practice? Why is a multiple hour soak necessary? Describe the parts of the regulator that benefit from this.

Note that if you don't soak the regulator for hours, you don't have to do anything special to dry it out.

I do a lot of diving in a freshwater lake with a high mineral content, which creates a different problem. Many of my dives are two hours long, giving them a lot of exposure to that environment. When I am done, I just rinse the regulator quickly with a hose. I do, however, wipe the DIN threads with vinegar to remove the mineral deposits.

I often use 5-6 regulator sets on a single dive, so I have had a lot of experience cleaning many regulators after many dives over many years.

 

[gamon]

Do you have any reason for your personal practice other than it is your personal practice?

No particular reason, just figure why not. I rinse them with a hose, drop them in the rinse bucket, and go do other things. Since it's the end of a vacation that usually means packing, grabbing something to eat, etc. Why not give the freshwater a chance to really soak into those parts that might not be reachable with a quick rinse and be sure all the salt water is gone?

Note that if you don't soak the regulator for hours, you don't have to do anything special to dry it out.

Are you suggesting that regulators soaked for a few minutes are "less wet" than regulators that are soaked for a few hours?

 

[boulderjohn]

No particular reason, just figure why not. I rinse them with a hose, drop them in the rinse bucket, and go do other things. Since it's the end of a vacation that usually means packing, grabbing something to eat, etc. Why not give the freshwater a chance to really soak into those parts that might not be reachable with a quick rinse and be sure all the salt water is gone?

What parts are those?

Are you suggesting that regulators soaked for a few minutes are "less wet" than regulators that are soaked for a few hours?

Long term soaking allows water to seep slowly into any less than perfect seal of the dust cap. A targeted hose spray gets the water into the places that need cleaning and not into the places that don't. I got this warning from an Aqualung representative who was in the dive shop where I worked. He was commenting on the new cleaning tanks they had just created, and he told us not to have our students soak the regulators in them for that reason.

 

[BoltSnap]

Long term soaking allows water to seep slowly into any less than perfect seal of the dust cap. A targeted hose spray gets the water into the places that need cleaning and not into the places that don't. I got this warning from an Aqualung representative who was in the dive shop where I worked. He was commenting on the new cleaning tanks they had just created, and he told us not to have our students soak the regulators in them for that reason.

Quick dunk is ok/good I think as long as long as the salt water/salt itself haven't had the chance to dry and crystallize on the regulator.

 

[gamon]

What parts are those?

Long term soaking allows water to seep slowly into any less than perfect seal of the dust cap. A targeted hose spray gets the water into the places that need cleaning and not into the places that don't. I got this warning from an Aqualung representative who was in the dive shop where I worked. He was commenting on the new cleaning tanks they had just created, and he told us not to have our students soak the regulators in them for that reason.

All parts?

Anyway good to know, makes sense.

 

[boat sju]

360guy,

listen to boulderjohn.

 

[Raphus]

I am on boulderjohns side aswell.
I dont trust the dustcaps.

I rinse my regs, while i hold the valve closed with my (dry) finger.
If i dive salt water, i soak them for like 5 min and rinse them. But always pressurized. If i have no tank available i wont soak them.

Its always good to give the equipment a qick fresh water rinse, when its still wet and salt/chlorine is not dried yet( often i just take a quick shower in full equipment) that of course does not replace proper rinsing.

After a salt water trip the best rinsing is a dive in fresh water.